Oil Extends Losses For Second Day As Supply Concerns Ease

(RTTNews) - Oil prices traded lower on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session amid eased concerns about Middle East supply disruptions.

Brent crude futures dropped 1.3 percent to $104.49 a barrel while WTI crude futures were down 0.9 percent at $101.51.

Both Brent and WTI contracts fell about $3 a barrel on Wednesday after reports emerged that Saudi Arabia is offering more crude oil to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfer off Oman's Sohar port.

It was said that Saudi Arabia is seeking to restore roughly half the capacity of its damaged East-West pipeline within days and bring it back to full operation within six weeks.

Apart from that, media reports suggested that U.S. officials held a confidential meeting with Yemen's Houthis in Oman amid rising Red Sea tensions, spurring new hopes over an easing in Middle East tensions.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed that 18 million barrels of crude and petroleum products passed through the Gulf on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, the U.S. House has passed a sanctions bill that could allow President Donald Trump to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil, including India and China.